Sisters Out of Their Element
by FierySprites
Summary: Just what was it that made the Star Allies a superior force of nature? That was something the Three Mage-Sisters would definitely like to know. [Mid-Star Allies, 'Make a Friend' Fic]


**Sisters Out of Their Element  
**_A_ Kirby_ One-Shot_

* * *

**Notes:** This is set during the main campaign of _Kirby Star Allies,_ specifically while the Star Allies are travelling through the third world, **Jambastion**. No Wave 3 Dream Friends are featured in this fic, as I set up the _Star Allies_ portion of this 'verse long before their announcement. Slight spoilers for the Three Mage-Sisters' backstories are featured.

* * *

**VS. Francisca**

Calm, cool, and collected, Frozen General Francisca is one of the three Mage-Sisters at the head of Jambastion's forces. The freezing attacks she unleashes are enough to chill the very hearts of those who oppose her.

* * *

**[Francisca]**

**Jambastion  
Longview Corridor – Circular Lobby**

It should've been a simple task: take the Jambastion, scour the Gamble Galaxy, and retrieve the scattered pieces of the Jamba Heart for Lord Hyness.

It had been something of a miracle when Lord Hyness discovered the location of the **Jamba Heart**, the prison locking away our god, Void Termina. None of us had ever seen him as delighted as he was in many months. After all these years, we were finally a single step away from achieving our long sought-after goal.

But Hyness's ritual failed, and now our plans are on the verge of becoming unraveled entirely. Fortunately for us, the Jamba Shards had not travelled too far: they had landed on a series of planets, the largest concentration being on this unremarkable world designated only as 'Pop Star'. There was no reason to expect any opposition in our mission, given how out-of-the-way the place was—

And yet, a significant part of our Fortress of Shadows has fallen to a mere ragtag group of rebels.

I pursed my lips as I stood on guard at the end of the Longview Corridor, a Jamba Shard floating snugly above my hand. Based on the reports our platoons have given me, they will be arriving at this location in relatively little time – the perfect opportunity to put down this counterattack in one fell swoop.

Then, from at the end of the hall, I heard footsteps of varying volumes grow increasingly closer and closer.

Speak of the Destroyer of Worlds…

I kept a cool glare on my face as I had my first look at the interlopers that had threatened to wreck our designs, if unintentionally.

"Bonjam," I bowed to them, watching as they properly registered my presence. "That is how we greet people in my culture."

They were a diverse cast of characters, being anywhere from a simple forgettable animal to an actual human girl. (That is a sight you do not see every day.) Leading this bunch of misfits were four figures: a sword-totting knight of equal stature, a regally plump penguin holding a hammer over his shoulder, a piddly Waddle Dee with a bandana and a spear…

…and finally, there was some stubby pink ball with a cap and staff not unlike that of our Jammerjabs.

I had some trouble believing this truth. Surely, this band of glorified commoners could not be the interlopers I had been waiting for? Less than half of them look like the type to confront someone stronger than them, let alone being combat ready.

But underestimating my opponents isn't a wise decision to make. If they've come this far, they must have potential.

…it doesn't matter, anyway.

Should they continue to resist after witnessing my blizzard, then I cannot be responsible for the fate they have brought unto themselves.

_(They will learn what it's like to be frozen and alone, just as I did.)_

"I am Francisca, one of my organization's three generals of magic. Together with my sisters, we command the Fortress of Shadows known as… Jambastion."

"Oh, we're droppin' names now, are we?" the pink one suddenly queried, somehow chipper despite the circumstances. "Okay then—I'm Kirby!" Gesturing to the other frontrunners next to him, he continued, "Standing with me are Meta Knight, King Dedede, Bandana Dee—and with everyone else here and not here, we make up the **Star Allies!** I'd say we're pleased to meet you, but then I'd be lying."

…the 'Star Allies', hmm?

So they gave themselves a collective title. Interesting to know… but that's not going to save them in the end.

"Hold on, hold on, wait up!" the penguin abruptly spoke up, blinking at his compatriot. "Hey, Kirby—our group has a name now?"

…_**excuse**__ me?_

"Yep! Just thought of it a couple minutes ago! Since we're all allies, if not real-deal super-duper close to each other yet, and star-related things are pretty much a major part of our lives… I thought it fits! A part of me kinda wishes it was 'Star Friends', but that edges to close to 'Dream Friends' for my liking." He shrugged.

…

Are—Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me right now?

"It _is_ pretty catchy…" the bandana-wearing Dee admitted. "I—I wouldn't mind us being called that f-from now on…"

The masked knight nodded. "We already have my Meta-Knights, the Animal Buddies, the Squeak Squad, and the—" He paused for a moment. "—the Haltmann Works Company. The Star Allies are a fine name to add to that list."

Cheers of agreement echoed from the crowd behind them.

…

This crew of fools cannot be this dense. They can_not_ be this oblivious to the atmosphere.

"_Awwww—__**I**_ wanted to name our group myself!" a similarly-statured jester complained, jumping up and down out of my vision with this amazingly irritating voice. _"Everyone _should get a chance to participate, don't ya think? I volunteer that we go by 'Marx's Not-Very-Magnificent Minions' instead!"

"I refuse to have to quest under that appellation," an oddly darker-colored (and scarred) knight immediately proclaimed. "I am in no way some glorified pawn of yours, and I am certainly not lesser to you by any means that exist."

"Are you sure that's not your _tsundere-ness_ talking, Darky?"

"**Why you—! I will **_**purge**_** this land of your insolence—!"**

And they can barely even get along as well. Have they gotten this far based entirely on luck and our own platoons' incompetence?

The human (artist?) giggled. "Looks like they're at it again," she noted. "They're so focused on one another, it's like the entire rest of the galaxy doesn't matter."

"It is remarkable how they manage not to get in each other's way in spite of their disputes," the red-clad mouse amusedly stated. "I would even dare to say they reach a sort of zen state when they get deep into arguing."

Deep breaths, Francisca. Deep breaths. Keep your cool. Think about what Berge and Zan. Zan would want you to handle this with poise and grace. And Berge…

…actually, she wouldn't care about diplomacy; she'd get fired up into a fight the second she saw these fools.

Still though, I must hold myself to higher standards.

"_**Enough of this,"**_ I icily intoned, loud enough for all of them to hear. They shut up in record time.

I narrowed my eyes, keeping my composure as best as I could. "Do you believe we are playing a simple _game_ here? That this is a situation that can be resolved through sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows? I'm sorry to say this—but if so, then you are fools. Why a majority of the Jamba Shards landed on this miserable backwater planet, I will never understand."

"Jamba Shards…?" the pink puffball repeated. "That wouldn't happen to be these… purple hearts that have been plaguing us, right?" His eyes flickered to the relic hovering over next to me. "A purple heart like the one you're holding?"

"Hmph. So you _do_ have eyes."

"Hey, Kirby's right!" the purple owl squawked, now freshly enraged. "You crazy people must be why we're not getting any peace 'round here! Y'know, I could've been having a good nap right now if it wasn't for you!" _And I care… why?_

"We haven't done anything to you, either!" the artist's fairy companion shouted, fluttering above the heads of the entire gathering. "Why did you guys do something like this!? What reason do you have to bring this humongous fortress here!?"

I scoffed, pocketing the Jamba Shard for safekeeping. "Believe me, it wasn't _my_ decision to cause you such turmoil," though I'm certainly not complaining about it. "If it were up to me, we wouldn't even be having this conversation in the first place. But unfortunately, that was merely where the seeds of fate just so happened to be planted.

"You see, we seek the pieces of the great Jamba Heart that were inadvertently scattered across the universe. Since your planet has the greatest concentration of pieces, we naturally came here to retrieve them – and we will use whatever force is necessary to do so. Once we reassemble the Jamba Heart, our most twisted of visions will finally be… untwisted." Wait, no, that doesn't sound right. "Unthawed? Unfurled!"

…that'll work.

"Well, mate, I'll give you a head's-up then: we're not gonna let that happen!" the hamster declared, raising a paw into the air. "We've seen worse than you, and we've kicked them back to the boozer every time!"

"Plus, it's thirteen of us versus only one of you here," the fish next to him pointed out, while somehow standing upright and out of water. "Not very great odds, wouldn't you say?"

"I like turtles," the blobbed one randomly said.

_Is that so?_

"You're wrong," I told them. _"You people_ are the ones who have no idea how outmatched you are." Do they honestly think I have little experience with crowd control? As the Frozen General of the Jambandra Cult, it would be suboptimal if I couldn't handle more than a few foes at once! "But I refuse to waste more of my time with this pointless chatter. Know this: should you insist on continuing to oppose us…"

I whipped out my snowflake-themed labrys, and pointed it right at the so-called Star Allies.

"I'll have no choice but to put you on ice—_**forever!"**_

"Give it your best shot, _Francisca!"_ the pink puffball exclaimed, twirling his staff, the rest of his entourage getting into some convincing battle stances. "When we're together… there's nothing us Star Allies can't do!"

…what a ridiculous sentiment.

'When we're together'… hmph! What good is aimlessly clustering yourselves into a bulbous whole going to do? If you stand in opposition to the plight of our quest, then there can be no hope for you! That's all there is to it!

_(And yet, the way this puffball speaks… if I didn't know any better, I would've confused his words for how __**he**__ used to be…)_

…there is one thing about his statements I agree with though. There's nothing stopping you fools from becoming ice sculptures on display atop my shelf!

By the will of our liege, Lord Hyness… I will put an end to this unsavory resistance!

That is the only outcome allowed to arise from this encounter!

* * *

**VS. Flamberge**

One of the Three Mage-Sisters, the Blazing General Flamberge rains fiery vengeance upon who stand in her way. She gets pretty mad if anyone does anything to upset Francisca. In fact, she's kind of riled up right now…

* * *

**[Flamberge]**

**Inner Sanctum – Balcony**

"_For what you've done, I'll scorch you to such a degree that… that…!"_ I summoned my flame-bladed sword and held it high, the intensity of its enchanted fire only inciting me further.

"…_**even tasty, toasty marshmallows will seem like ice cubes compared to you!"**_

_RAAAAAARGH!_ No more talking! It's time for these cowardly meatloaves to _BURN!_

Jumping to the other end of the battlefield, I opened with a large slash at their exposed backs, startling them and sending a good chunk of the crowd spiraling away. I let out a savage grin as I continued my assault, ripping them apart from each other, before finishing things off with a brutal flurry of stabs. _Yeah, __**feel my rage!**_

The stubby little pink thing, wielding this really frosty-looking sword (what is he doing, stealing Franny's schtick!?), retaliated with a drill dash toward me—which was promptly followed up by an upward slash. _Yowch—!_

"Well, you're certainly a feisty one!" Stubby Pink Thing commented, our blades clashing against one another. "And here I thought Adeleine had that in spades!"

"I dunno who're you talkin' about, and I don't really care!" I spat, pushing back as hard as I could. "Just sit there and lemme burn you to a crisp!"

"N-Not on our watch!"

I sensed something on my tail, and I hopped away just in time to avoid a deadly duo of sword and spear, led by the armored borb and the one who reminded me of one of our Jammerjabs. I could've sworn I sent 'em soarin' earlier—but I guess it didn't take as much as it should've!

_Looks like I'll have to fix that!_ I grinned savagely._ Oh, this is gonna be such a __**gooooood**__ beatdown!_

"So you _do_ have skill behind that brash personality of yours," Armored Borb remarked—of course I do, I'm a _general_ after all! "Dee, stay close—we can't afford to underestimate her now."

"I—I hear you, Meta!"

Everyone else on the battlefield was on the move: people were taking flight, blasting away with crystals and feathers and whatever crazy crap they had up their sleeve; others were still grounded, doing weird stuff like painting something fast and bouncing on beach balls. I slashed my sword back and forth rapidly, creating waves of four fireballs flying around the area—and the chaos that resulted from them panicking and rushing to avoid 'em was awesome.

…well, for most of them, anyway.

Double teams seemed to be the name of the game, considering how the art-fart weirdos had hopped on this random cloud and were flinging plasma orbs like they were Zan. The triple team of hamster-fish-owl weren't very deterred from my assault either, though I did notice they seemed to be a little more scorched than before.

Some of their attacks hit me, and I have to admit they stung, but I'm not about to let these crazies get motivated 'cause of that! I started hopping about, spinning my sword in all directions and becoming a flaming tornado of destruction. _"I'm on __**fire! FEAR ME!"**_ I cackled loudly—and then a humongous blue _thing_ sat on me and stopped me right in my tracks, fire be damned.

"_Wh-What the—!?"_

"Alright, boss! She's pinned down!"

"Good work, Storo. Okay, crew—all in!"

"_**Gotcha, Daroach!"**_

A chorus of uncoordinated screams filled the air, and suddenly I was being assaulted from every side, by anything and everything at once. An unrivaled sense of pain hit me through each and every one of my nerves, like nothing else I've ever felt—and there were so many elements being thrown into the mix, I couldn't tell which one was which (aside from Sizzle. I recognize Sizzle pretty intimately, considering it's my primary element).

The whole thing lasted only a few seconds before I grabbed my discarded blade and dashed away from the ordeal—but those were a few seconds I'd definitely never forget, not for a long time. None of the platoons under my command would ever think to do anything like that! Seeing such a tactic come from those from this backwater planet, of all places…

It's…

_It's…!_

…it's _**exhilarating.**_

In a way, it's a lot like my 'lil stint on Sizzlai Moon so many years ago; an inferno borne from madness, with destruction raining down from above… although I wouldn't want to relive that specific scenario myself, something more down-to-earth and yet somewhat-the-same as this situation? Sign! Me! Up!

I know they hurt Franny, and I'm still gonna scorch 'em for that… but I think I'm really gonna enjoy myself fighting these 'Star Allies'!

"BAHAHAHAHAHA! This is getting _exciting!_ I've never been pushed this far in a fight—not even Franny and Zan _combined_ could accomplish _that!_ I'm gonna have to get a 'lil more serious—_so I hope you're hungry for some more __**pain!"**_

"Are you kidding me, blokes!? She looks barely winded!"

A sigh. "Told ya this was gonna be a wild ride, Rick…"

"…I suddenly wish I was back in the Mirror World, away from this nonsense…"

"More pain, eh? Sorry—I'm gonna have to issue a royal veto for _that,_ if you don't mind!"

I whirled around, and then I had to somehow block a mallet from crashing down on me. I peeked my head a little to the left; who else was holding it except Fat Penguin Guy, his penguin-y mouth curled up into a great big smile. He short-hopped in the air, twirling his hammer in a roundabout manner—_Ow, ow, ow! You little—_and then bashed me _hard_ with a strong Hammer Flip.

"_Foreeeeeeeee!"_ he exclaimed, accompanied by a crowd of cheers screaming and whooping.

I landed on the floor, disoriented as can be. As my vision righted itself, I inexplicably found myself surrounded on four sides: Stubby Pink Thing in front of me, sword still freezing; Fat Penguin Guy and Not-Jammerjab to my sides, hammer and spear ready to swing; and… why was I feeling a _tongue_ lick me from behind?

…ah, whatever! Probably not important, if that's the only thing it's doing!

"You should give up, here and now!" Stubby Pink Thing recommended. "We took down Francisca despite her efforts; it'll be better for you to stop while you can!"

"Listen to K-Kirby!" Not-Jammerjab proclaimed. "We don't have to fight!"

"Friendship's better than fighting," the voice behind me agreed.

"Oh, I'm not done yet, Stubby!" I stabbed my namesake weapon into the ground, right in front of him. I latched on to the handle with both hands, and then spun it around in a circle. A trail of flames were spawned wherever I dragged it, and once it was completed, they erupted into blazing pillars, leaving them well-cooked and far less well-off!

"I've got plenty more fire where that came from—and several practice dummies to set ablaze!" I continued, taking my sword outta the floor and dramatically swinging it just to show off. "You may have been lucky dealin' with Franny, but I'll be a completely different story, you puny pink pest!" _And that's __**without**__ mentioning what Zan can do!_

"Fine then—if that's how you wanna play, then have it your way!" Stubby Pink Thing regrouped with his friends, all of them sporting very determined faces. "No more faffing about, Star Allies—let's show her what we're made of!"

"_Aye aye, captain!"_

They're so determined to see things through, aren't they? Too bad I won't allow them to progress any further! They may work well enough together, but that's not gonna mean anything when I crank up the heat all the way to maximum!

BAHAHAHAHAHA! You people made a terrible mistake, messing with me and my sisters! Oh, and Lord Hyness too! I'm gonna beat you here, and then there'll be nothing stopping me from gathering all the Jamba Heart pieces!

The Jambandra Cult will reign supreme! And I, Blazing General Flamberge, will be the one to bring us to _victory!_

* * *

**VS. Zan Partizanne**

The dutiful leader of the Three Mage-Sisters. Lightning General Zan Partizanne seems to energize the fortress itself and uses high-speed attacks to render her prey helpless. At the bidding of some unknown lord, she hunts for the Jamba Shards…

* * *

**[Zan Partizanne]**

**Heavenly Hall – Reactor**

"_A-Aggggggggh!"_

My back slammed into the wall, one last painful shock roaring across my entire body. I hit the floor hard, an intense soreness going through each and every one of my limbs.

"Ugh…" I groaned. "J-Jam…blasted…"

This is… This is impossible. This is inconceivable!

I am Zan Partizanne, Lightning General of the Jambandra Cult, feared Bringer of Shock, second-in-command to Lord Hyness himself!

How can this be…!? How could I have lost—_lost!_—to these _simpletons…!?_

_(__**Maybe it's because you're not as invincible as you think you are, Zan.**__)_

"…this planet…" I wheezed. "It's so… measly and remote, it's… barely even worth… remembering." Shakily bringing myself to an upright stance, I levied an exhausted glare at the interlopers that dared to stand in our way. "So why? Why is there such—such strong opposition to us? It just—It doesn't make any sense…"

That damnable puffball shook his head, a frown etched on his mouth. "That way of thinking's the reason you didn't win," he calmly explained. "You don't put a whole lotta stock in people, do you? Or in what we can do when we put our minds to it."

"No amount of 'putting your minds to it' should result in _this_ irregularity," I retorted. "This was a fluke. Your resilience to my assault, in contrast to my usual opponents, merely blinded me longer than it should have. Nothing more, and nothing less, you—you—you _glorified fluffy balloon!"_ That's all it is! _That's all it is!_ And I refuse to accept any other answer!

"Ha! I'll take that as a compliment, thank you!" he smugly stated.

"That just goes to show you—evil bad guys don't have anything on the power of our friendship!" the red-and-pink fairy declared loudly. Oh, how I wished to shut her up with my spear going through her mouth. "Alone, we're okay—but together, we're _**unstoppable!"**_

"You said it, Ribbon!" the hamster chimed in. "This may be our debut adventure as the Star Allies, but I already know this for sure: there's no other group I'd rather be in!"

"It's nice," the odd blob agreed. "Good and nice. We have friendship, and we have strength, and that's nice." He stared at me with his head titled, wearing an expression I couldn't quite read. "…I wonder if you've ever seen a happy friendship before."

…friendship?

_That's_ their reasoning? _Friendship?_

I scoffed. "Is that what you believe to be true?" I asked. My eyes narrowed shortly afterward. "Let me tell you this, _Star Allies_—you can gain no strength from the hands of others guiding you. If you want to accomplish anything in this universe, you have to do it under your own power. Life's—life's not simple and clean like you think; _you shouldn't talk like it is!"_

…what's with that pity on his face!? Does he think that just because he has copious amounts of 'friendship' (pah!), he has the right to speak as if he knows better than me!?

"Y'know, I'm not really one to talk, considering my old method of essentially banging my head repeatedly at a brick wall and hoping it'll tumble," the chubby penguin stated, "but facing us alone was probably one of the worst decisions you could've made. Our skill levels may be all over the place, but at the very least, we're definitely no slouch in the numbers department."

"As a general who commands entire battalions, you, more than anyone, should understand the importance of cooperation to any operation's success," the blue knight—and by far the most experienced of the thirteen—calmly lectured. "A scant few of your forces even considered combining their powers to achieve their goals, which is something I and Dedede have long since instilled into our own guards. Either you are simply blind to its value, or an event in the past has left you averse to the mere idea of building relationships."

* * *

_Time seemed to slow as her form fell through the sky—and as battered and bruised her mind was, and as her nerves continued to ache and strain in suffering… the girl began to contemplate her life thus far, as both her consciousness and her breathing gradually faded away to nothingness._

Is this… Is this a cruel joke…? _she internally wheezed, unable to comprehend reality as she knew it._ Was my life… nothing more than someone's plaything…? A toy… for the gods' amusement…?

Ha ha ha—_Ha ha ha ha…_ Of course.

Of course… it was.

There can't be any other answer.

Why else… would they let me get my hopes up… only to further grind them into dust… as they flutter about in the wind…?

That's why… I can't even have a peaceful end.

That's why… I'm dying alone, in pain, at this young age.

That's why… I'm here on this blasted moon to begin with.

* * *

Tch…! He thinks he's _so_ observant, doesn't he…!?

"…so what?" I heaved. "So what if you think you're right? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all!" I was furious now, absolutely furious; moreso than when I received the news that these interfering interlopers had somehow managed to bring down Franny and Berge. "You're nothing more than simpering simpletons! _Never-ending numbskulls! _You've never suffered the way I did—_**none of you have!"**_

The pink puffball frowned, sharing the same look as that mindless blob—and everyone else now, too. "You… haven't had the happiest of pasts, huh? And you've never gotten over it, too. Not to mention, your current employment's doing you no favors in being a well-adjusted person."

He stood up straighter, shuffling to a more comfortable posture. "Things don't have to stay like that, you know," he said, grinning widely. "In my opinion, anyone can be a friend, so long as you can reach in and see the light shining in everyone's souls. I'm no stranger to befriending reformed villains, and letting them stay over on Pop Star either!"

"Yeah! I'd know!" the jester annoyingly piped up. "I mean, I tried to take over the place once, and I turned out… somewhat okay! Plus," he snickered, "I've been looking for some more pranking candidates to play around with…"

"And by that, he means that he wouldn't mind having some more friends," the artist ran damage control.

"Sure, we're a little dysfunctional at times," the puffball shrugged in acknowledgement, "and our sense of normality's been intensely skewed by all the cosmic threats sent our way, but… at the end of the day, our bonds of friendship keep us smiling and stronger than we would be otherwise!"

"You said it," the king chimed in. "Me and Kirby, we're thicker than thieves, now! No offense to the actual thief in the room, of course."

"None taken."

"Anyway, I can see a spark in you and your sisters—a spark of goodness that I'd really like to see flourish. Whatever course you're on, Zan, whatever evil you're trying to unleash, it's not too late to change gears." He held out his hand, his grin turning into a simple, softhearted smile. "C'mon, whaddya say? Friends?"

…

…

Does… Does he seriously believe… that I'll fall for something as juvenile as 'a spark of goodness'?

These Star Allies, with their utter naivety and their frustrating speeches… they don't understand _anything_ about me. They haven't experienced the torment thrusted upon me, the labor it was to assist in the expansion of the Jambandra Cult's efforts.

Besides, I can tell: they'd easily become fragmented the moment that _puffball_ was out of the picture. They put up a strong showing now, but such a clash of personalities and skillsets would only lead to their detriment, whereas I can get a variety of things done by myself!

I've paved my path. I've got all I need! Francisca, Flamberge, Lord Hyness… they're counting on me to complete my mission. Each of us have a shared goal we've long strived for; to stray from that now would be a betrayal of the highest order!

_(__**We all know the truth, though. You just don't want to admit that you don't feel worthy of their offer. That you'd basically be a waste of space to them—something they'd be better off without.**_

_**But that's okay. That's acceptable. Serving Lord Hyness is enough purpose for your sorry soul. He may batter you physically and mentally, but you know it's because he loves you.**_

_**He's your only lifeline in this twisted galaxy.**__)_

(**So best not to mess with the status quo, now.**)

…

…enough of this nonsense.

With the energy I still had left in me, I zipped over to the Jamba Heart shard, snatched it, and then hovered above the energy reactor powering the entire Jambastion. I levied a glare at each of the intruders, their startled faces bringing me a small level of satisfaction.

"Listen here, you tiny ball of puffy pink mischief!" I growled. "You _and_ your insipid allies! I don't need your friendship—_or_ that spark of goodness you claim I have! This Jamba Heart piece is already within my grasp, and I _will_ see our cult's plans come to fruition! As far as I'm concerned… **you and this Jambastion can rot in ruin forever!"**

"Wait, Zan, _no—!"_

I summoned my spear, and smashed it straight into the core, additionally electrifying it and destabilizing the entire citadel. I didn't care that this would mean destroying a valuable resource or leaving some of our troops with no means of evacuation—if it meant wiping that _infuriating_ smile from that stubby ball's mouth, then _so be it!_

"Baaaahahahahaha!" I laughed at their panicking forms. My business was done here. These fools are no longer relevant to me! "Jambuh_bye!"_

I shot off toward the personal starship I had docked close by, jumping in and blasting off back to Jambandra Base with my quarry in tow.

It took me several long minutes before my adrenaline wore down and I was able to properly ruminate on things again.

I… I had made it.

I had survived our battle with no loss to myself.

The Star Allies… they were surely nothing more than space dust now.

_**A fantastic job, Zan,**_ that snidely, torturous voice told me. _**Maybe you're not as useless as you seem.**_

"…of course I'm not," I muttered aloud, clenching my teeth. "I'm not useless. I'm not useless. I matter. I matter to myself, I matter to my sisters, I matter to Lord Hyness…"

Despite how much I chanted that mantra to myself, however… it rang rather hollow when I remembered that puffball's honest proposal, and his heartfelt expression.

Which couldn't be right. Which _can't_ be right.

He can't have gotten to me after a single confrontation.

Nobody is that kind, or that forgiving, or that… charismatic.

Nobody in this world is like that, aside from Lord Hyness.

Nobody can be…

…right?

* * *

**Setting up parts of the **Make a Friend** 'verse for later fics is something I like doing, if only so things don't feel so out-of-place when you read all the fics in chronological(-ish) order. I get that this is fanfiction, and I don't really **_**have**_** to, but it's the principle of the matter, y'know?**

**So. The **Three Mage-Sisters**. **_**Star Allies'**_** recurring set of villains, akin to Taranza in **_**Triple Deluxe**_** and Susie in **_**Planet Robobot.**_** They're legitimately interesting characters to consider, especially when you factor in their backstories as laid out in Update 4.0.0. Given their increased emphasis in **_**Star Allies, Unite!—**_**and the fact that they barely show up in the **_**Star Allies**_** leg of this 'verse's timeline—I decided showing off more of them couldn't hurt.**

**I opted to focus on a different part of battle for each of the Mage-Sisters' segments—partially to make them more distinct from one another, and partially to metaphorically reflect on what their personalities are like in this 'verse. Francisca stays cool and collected at all times (even when greeting challengers); Flamberge's a bit of a battle freak; Zan Partizanne doesn't really like losing… et cetera, et cetera. Overall, this was good practice for getting into the headspace of each Mage-Sister, and I hope the three of 'em come across pretty well.**

**I apologize for Flamberge's segment being the shortest of the three, but I just didn't have it in me to write out an extended combat sequence—especially when I've drawn out the timeframe of writing this fic for way too long. I hope it serves its purpose well enough—insight into Flamberge's character and her overall thoughts on the Star Allies—in spite of that, though. **

**Part of Zan Partizanne's section was inspired by one of OwlsCantRead's one-shots, **_**Starcutter Express**_**—specifically, the friendship speech Kirby gives Zan in that fic. Which, funnily enough, took cues from the friendship speeches I like to write. Recursive writing at its finest! Go check the fic out; it's a pretty cool take on the Zan fight, if I do say so myself.**

**Well, that's all for now – see you guys around!**


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